PILATES AT ANY AGE

Can't picture your granny doing Pilates? Well, 101-year-old Ruth Kobin has a one-hour lesson every Thursday. "I've always exercised every day," says the New York City resident. Ruth states "I walk a mile after lunch every day."

"Being active is like tuning up a car engine," explains Linda Fried, MD, interim co-director of the International Longevity Center and dean of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. "It keeps systems running better, so even if there's a decline with age, it's less severe." Laura Vogel, 100 of Riverside, New York agrees: "Exercise makes me feel sharper."

Use It Now! Make exercise part of your daily routine. "Just walk 30 minutes a day and a few times a week add on something else," whether it's a Zumba class or lifting weights, says Luigi Ferruci, MD, scientific director of the National Institute on Aging.